We did get the olives harvested after a good 2.25 inches of rain! On November 22, it finally happened, the fruit had all of the coloring we were anxiously waiting for-light green, yellow green, red and purple all with a creamy colored inside oozing with oil and water when squished between our fingers. It felt like the parade had finally arrived at our orchard.

Now for the check-off list---bins washed, and placed around the orchard--- CHECK-- picking buckets cleaned and in good shape for several days work,--- CHECK-- yellow grape picking trays laid out---CHECK--forklift has diesel fuel---CHECK-- a big check to this as last year I neglected (forgot may be a better word) this minor detail and ran out of fuel....ever tried to start a diesel engine after it runs dry from no fuel....first comes the spitting, then the sputtering, quick, pump the gas pedal give it more gas-it's going to conk out --then came the silence and on a slight hill too. What to do?Roll backward, can't stop and crash right through an electric fence into the irrigated green pasture -then what. Not a bad place to be considering it could have been worse.Then I remembered, the fuel guage was broken and always read full. Minor detail, why fix it right?  I have the trick down now on how to check the fuel level with a broken fuel guage- open the cap, put a metal measuring tape into the tank, read the number of inches on the tape that are moist from touching the diesel in the tank.  Six inches of fuel...Plenty to get the job done.

At 7:00 a.m. just as the sun came up we began picking. It was a beautiful morning, blue sky with some clouds.The air was filled with a crispness that says Fall has arrived. We hired a labor crew to help us get down to the serious business of getting the olives off of the trees. Amy and I learned from experience that it is nearly impossible to harvest the olives all alone by ourselves. Friends and family do come out and graciously help us pick and provide us with a lot of needed help. But the truth is that we just could not get the job done without the laborers help. We picked and picked and picked. My 5 year old niece Claire who desparately begs us to let her help us pick olives has decided that she would rather dip bread into olive oil after it is made. She loves to help harvest every year but has decided that picking the olives off the tree is "boring". 

At 8:00 a.m. A photographer from Davis Life Magazine came out to see the harvest and shoot  photos of the harvest for the December issue of the magazine. check it out- "The Making of Hillstone Olive Oil. :dec-2008.davislifemagazine.com/hillstone/pg1 . Laura has a wonderful way with words and did a great job writing about us and covering just that "The Making Of Hillstone Olive Oil". And Megan, well, she is just an awesome photographer. Those two are going places in the journalism and photography world I am sure!

We picked and picked and picked until our hands were very sore. I ended up with a very bruised thumb this year among other sore fingers.But Amy and I always agree that we  would not trade the excitement and the passion of a great olive harvest for anything. To be able to start with a wish and a dream. I know my grandma would be very proud.  

At noon we went up to the house for lunch. My mom cooked a wonderful stew with chunks of beef, potatoes, celery and carrots all bubbling together in a thick tomato based gravy infused with garlic and olive oil. Just delicious! The beef is raised by my father right here on the farm. It's dry aged, very tender and full of flavor. Homemade buttermilk biscuits and salad were also on the table.  Amy served a tasty cheese platter with Teleme, Emmentaler Swiss, and Manchego along with quince paste to dab onto a nice crust of french bread before slathering it with a hunk of cheese.

We headed back to pick after lunch but were stymied some by the great lunch. We were moving slow....

Later, that afternoon 11 bins were full to the top with Arbequina olives. That was enough for a load to head up to the mill. We loaded up and off we went.  When we arrived our miller was waiting for us. The coordination between the time the olives are picked and milled is very important. If you want the freshest best tasting oil, the olives should be pressed into oil within 24 hours of picking. All of the advance planning makes this goes smoothly. The weather finally cooperated after making numerous phone calls in the evenings rescheduling our harvest. If there is too much moisture in the ground due to rain----the dirt gets very muddy,  and we all  grow about a foot from mud sticking to the bottom of our shoes. Not to bring up the forklift again but mud  just supports a problem---getting stuck!! 

The first drizzle of oil going into the barrel is what it is all about. We tasted the oil and "wow",  we were so happy with the flavor. The oil is in the Nuovo period immediately after pressing which is pretty intense and tasty with an aroma of green and ripe fruit apple and tomato. The oil after pressing is allowed to rest before bottling. Our oil is unfiltered so resting allows for the flavors to meld nicely and for any cloudiness in the oil to clear away.

A couple bottles of oil are sent off  to the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) and tasted by a professional tasting panel for the extra virgin status. Our oil is also submitted  for laboratory analysis which also helps to denote the extra virgin status.

All in all it was a great harvest and well worth all of the tedious coordination. And both the Arbequina and Arbequina / Koroneiki blend have been crowned and certified as extra virgin olive oil by the COOC. Some of the oil has been bottled and is now ready to be consumed by the folks that like an aritsanally produced oil from a small farm. Check out the products page if you are interested in trying our oil. I will post a few pictures but the majority of them will be in the Gallery-please take a peek. AND We would love to hear your comments.